CSA basket's bounty

In the 21st century, our fast-paced lifestyle doesn't always allow time to tend our own garden plot. The desire for home-grown quality and a reduced carbon footprint achieved by food not having to be shipped across country has made farmers markets and CSA memberships popular.

Community Supported Agriculture is a "farm-to-table" concept of supporting local growers who utilize sustainable farming practices by purchasing a seasonal (late spring through early fall) membership in return for a weekly basket of typically organic vegetables, flowers, fruits, eggs, herbs, honey or any sort of different farm products. The CSA concept, whose roots reach back 30 years to Japan, is called "teikei" in Japanese which translates to "putting the farmers' face on food."

I first learned about CSAs from my daughter, Heather, who was receiving a weekly basket where she lives in NY. At that time there wasn't a CSA farm in the Brainerd area, however in 2004 the CSA Farm on St. Mathias was started five miles S.E of Brainerd.  The fun comes in anticipating what is going to be in the week's basket and in planning a menu around the basket's contents. Two products I got in the first two CSA baskets during the spring season, were asparagus and a jar of homemade rhubarb jam. Therefore, I made apple bran pancakes to spread with rhubarb jam and creamy asparagus potato soup.